September 11, 2024. -- Williston, ND To Theodore Roosevelt National Park And Back

Williston, North Dakota Library

September 11, 2024

530 PM

Leaving Williston this morning I drove over the Missouri River.

West of where I was driving on US 85 to the North part of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park is where the Yellowstone River merges into the Missouri River.

Watford City, North Dakota

Watford City founded in 1914, is a city in and the county seat of McKenzie County, North Dakota. The population was 6,207 at the 2020 census, making it the 13th most populous city in North Dakota. Because Watford City is part of the Bakken field, the

North Dakota oil boom has significantly increased population and construction since the 2010 census.

The main offices of Frontier Energy Group, First International Bank, and the headquarters of McKenzie Electric Cooperative are in Watford City.

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,207 people, 2,449 households, and 1,390 families residing in the city. The population density was 691.4 inhabitants per square mile (267.0/km2). There were 3,512 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 73.7% White, 2.4% African American, 2.0% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 9.6% from some other races and 10.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.7% of the population.[15] 29.2% of residents were under the age of 18, 10.5% were under 5 years of age, and 7.4% were 65 and older.

It was hard to capture the essence of the new housing in Watford City. There were places like the one below. There were several four or five story apartment buildings, there were trailer parks, there were RV lots and subdivisions of single family housing.

Between Watford City And the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Photos like these remind me that this oil boom bringing so much prosperity to the region is a recent phenomenon. And prosperity might be the wrong word. The growth in this area supports a lot of cheap looking housing and hotels. In 20 years, these new buildings will look old and dare I say crappy. Boom times in the early 1900s resulted in buildings which when maintained have withstood the passage of time and today look classic. Perhaps their builders did not have in mind how they would last, but they have. Today’s “convenient” construction will not, aesthetically nor structurally.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a national park of the United States in the badlands of western North Dakota comprising three geographically separated areas. Honoring U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, it is the only American national park named directly after a single person.

The park covers 70,446 acres (110.072 sq mi; 28,508 ha; 285.08 km2) of land in three sections: the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit. The Little Missouri River flows through all three units of the park. The Maah Daah Hey Trail connects all three units. The park's larger South Unit lies alongside Interstate 94 near Medora, North Dakota. The smaller North Unit is situated about 80 mi (130 km) north of the South Unit, and Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch is located between the North and South units.

Both main units of the park have scenic drives, approximately 100 miles (160 km) of foot and horse trails, wildlife viewing, and back country hiking and camping. The park received 850,000 recreational visitors in 2021.[2]

History

Roosevelt connection

Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota badlands to hunt bison in September 1883. During that first short trip, he got his bison and fell in love with the rugged lifestyle and the "perfect freedom" of the West. He invested $14,000 in the Maltese Cross Ranch, which was already being managed by Sylvane Ferris and Bill Merrifield, seven miles south of Medora. That winter, Ferris and Merrifield built the Maltese Cross Cabin. After the death of both his wife and his mother on February 14, 1884, Roosevelt returned to his North Dakota ranch seeking solitude and time to heal. That summer, he started his second ranch, the Elkhorn Ranch, 35 miles north of Medora, which he hired two Maine woodsmen, Bill Sewall and Wilmot Dow, to operate. Roosevelt took great interest in his ranches and in hunting in the West, detailing his experiences in pieces published in eastern newspapers and magazines. He wrote three major works on his life in the West: Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and The Wilderness Hunter. His adventures in "the strenuous life" outdoors and the loss of his cattle in the starvation winter in 1886–1887 were influential in his pursuit of conservation policies as President of the United States (1901–1909).

Park development

Following Roosevelt's death in 1919, the Little Missouri Badlands were explored to determine possible park sites. Civilian Conservation Corps camps were established in both of the future park units from 1934 to 1941, and they developed roads and other structures in use today. The area was designated the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area in 1935. In 1946 it was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge. After a five-year campaign by North Dakota representative William Lemke, President Truman established the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park on April 25, 1947, the only National Memorial Park ever established; the North Unit was added by act of Congress in June 1948. In 1978, in addition to boundary adjustments and the establishment of 29,920 acres (121.1 km2) of the Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness, the park's designation was changed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.